Baruch College Board of Directors approved a total of $13,386.61 in club budget appeals in its September meeting. Baruch’s Undergraduate Student Government representatives highlighted the increase of student engagement, which led to more active clubs and a significant number of clubs appealing for budget increases.

A Board of Directors meeting is the final destination for club appeals to be approved after clubs present appeal proposals during USG Senate meetings and get the approval first. Budget appeals that were made by seven clubs were all approved unanimously during the meeting. One of the most outstanding budget appeals belonged to the BioMed Society, with a total of $3,871. BioMed Society appealed for the budget increase by turning all of their member meetings to general interest meetings, in name only. GIMs receive funding for refreshments, whereas regular club meetings don’t. Last semester, BioMed Society proposed a budget allocation of $7,109 and they were allocated $3,065.

 According to the records, BioMed filed four budget increase appeals in the past. The appeals for $1,950 for CPR certification and $3,871 for GIMs were approved. The club also appealed for a Halloween stress relief activity and a Thanksgiving event in which they were planning to send cards to patients at Mount Sinai Hospitals, however, these appeals were denied, according to Mohammed Zoqari, treasurer of BioMed Society.

 “The only ones that were not approved are Halloween and Thanksgiving, which I think are very important in reflecting our mission outside of Baruch, and helping students in Baruch to have a good time right after midterms,” said Zoqari in a text.

 According to Zoqari, CPR certification is highly necessary for students with science majors.

 Without the addition of the budget of the CPR event, BioMed Society has an initial budget of $6,936, $5,861 for only GIMs, according to USG’s website. With both appeals, BioMed almost doubled its initial budget.